Ryan and April serve in Asia-Pacific among the Turu people. Returning to the USA this summer brought mixed emotions for them as a family – hope for stateside connections and community, but also the grief of a world, family and friends being left behind.
Their eldest son has left the country the rest of them will return to live in at the end of the year. They will head back to continue translating and teaching God’s Word for the Turu people. But their son will remain in the USA, the country written on his passport, whilst the one written on his heart will be different for a while. He is grieving the loss of his home, all the while trying to adjust to adulting in this new world, without his parents around long-term to guide him.
Adulting is hard and parenting adult children is tough, especially from afar. But God has provided some hope. Their son has a car, a job in construction, moved into a house with young adults from church, and started college. They trust that the same God who cared for him in the jungle will do so in the concrete jungle.
A hard ministry reality for Ryan and April is that their village co-workers of ten years have resigned, leaving them to carry on alone. But technology, has allowed Ryan to continue Bible translation remotely from the USA, connecting with their Turu friends online in Asia-Pacific.
Alongside the hardships it is also a time for them to celebrate as their twelve-year-old son was recently baptised. He shares, “I want to show others that I believe in Jesus for myself, so that others can help encourage me in my faith.”